Winter Training and being ill - by Warren
No matter how hard you try to avoid sick people on the train, in the office or at the supermarket, sometimes you get ill. This year it can be attributed more to our young daughter starting at daycare in September. The dreaded lurgy strikes about once a month as your little cherub builds their immune system with the help of the other sniffing and sneezing kids that they share their days with. Nothing hurts more than to see your little one feeling the effects of their first proper head cold, and knowing that you're almost inevitably going to be feeling the same very soon doesn't fill you with joy either.
Luckily (really?) for me this year I got ill during my off season time, when I should be resting up anyway. Usually I would however do a little more than lying on the sofa. A rest period would be training less, not to a plan, and just having fun rather than resting totally. Still, the week and a half of enforced rest seems to have helped as I feel good now and am motivated to get started.
The plan is set, the team set up is falling into place, and soon we will hopefully be starting to order bikes and bits. I also recently took delivery of a new toy in the form of a left hand crank arm. Sounds boring, but this one has a twist. A small box glued to the inside of the arm houses a box of electronic wizardry (or a couple of strain gauges, an accelerometer and an ECU to those in the know). The end result is what is commonly known as a Power Meter (Wattmätare på Svenska). This can be fitted to my training MTB, the Monark indoor trainer, or to my Cyclocross bike with a quick swap of crank arm to give me some extra data during my training. Less time to train, means one has to train smart. To train smart one requires data.
So I completed a max test and a VO2 max test with Aktivitus in October at Bikeitaly in order to set my base figures for both heart rate and power (FTP) which are then used to calculate my training zones. This year I will be able to train more accurately to my specified zones using a power meter rather than relying on heart rate, which can vary large amounts due to many outside factors. With power, there is nowhere to hide. If you're tired, you still need to hit the figures. It's also a more accurate way to see if you're actually improving over time.
My plan this year actually includes some more time in the preparation phase. This is something that I feel I have missed out on before, but is important to get the body used to the pattern of training every day. Thus the first base period starts a little later than last year, but I should now go into it feeling more ready to train and therefore hopefully not miss so many training sessions due to fatigue or bad planning.
Our training camp in the sun is almost sorted too. This time we are going to Mallorca, and a couple of weeks later than last years trip to Gran Canaria.
Looking forward to some muddy, slippy-slidey rides in the next couple of months. I always enjoy riding in the mud and slop. Must be the years of riding the local trails around North Hampshire and Bucklebury Common with the Xtrac boys. You Swedes have never SEEN mud!!
See you on the trails!
